If an upright card is generally read as “no,” does that automatically make it a “yes” when it shows up reversed?

Oli

I don’t treat reversals as a simple literal opposite. For me they’re more like a change in how the energy is showing up - blocked, delayed, turned inward, or weaker - or a shadow/unfinished version of the upright meaning.

A few practical ways I use them:

Read the upright meaning first, then ask how that energy might be reduced, resisted, or inward.
Think “delayed” or “internal” when it feels right. For example, Three of Cups upright is celebration; reversed can be isolation, boundary issues, or a party that’s not working out.
Use them as red flags sometimes - a reversed Major Arcana can point to inner work or denial rather than an external event.
For yes/no spreads I’ll often count reversals as leaning toward no or unstable yes, but that’s just my habit.
If a reversal feels vague, I’ll pull a clarifying card or read the surrounding cards to see how it’s colouring the story.

Some readers ignore reversals entirely, and that’s fine too. Try different approaches and stick with what clicks for you.

AikoTanaka

It really depends on how you choose to handle yes/no questions. A lot of people here will tell you tarot isn’t great for strict yes/no stuff, but if you want to use it that way you need to pick a system and be consistent.

Some readers keep it simple: upright equals yes, reversed equals no. You can still read the card for context, but that’s your baseline. So even a traditionally “bad” card like the Tower can be a yes if it comes up upright in that system.

Other readers go by the card meanings more than a literal upright/reversed switch. Reversals don’t automatically mean the opposite. For example, if you ask “Will I get the promotion?” and pull the Sun, that’s usually a yes. If it’s reversed, I’d still lean yes, but maybe with delays or extra steps-success postponed, not denied. Treating every reversed card as a hard no feels too simplistic to me.

Also remember life rarely fits neat yes/no boxes. “Will my car break down tomorrow?” sounds binary, but a yes could mean anything from a dead battery to a total engine blowout-pretty different outcomes.

That’s why a lot of us prefer spreads or readings that allow nuance instead of shoehorning everything into yes or no.

Oli

AikoTanaka Honestly, that helped a lot, thanks 🙂

Liam87

AikoTanaka Ohh, that makes sense. I’m not always sure either, so I end up looking things up sometimes. Now I’m wondering what other cards might give that same sunny energy in a reading.

Grace

I usually stick with upright cards for yes/no readings because reversals get pretty layered and can feel like they’re only giving part of the message or shifting the nuance too much.

Uprights just read more straightforward to me, so the answers stay clearer. That’s just how I do it-hope it helps 🙂

MichaelDavis

Not necessarily, it really depends on how you read the cards. Like in Modern Magick by Donald Michael Craig, the upright Tower can mean ruin, catastrophe, and disruption, while the reversed Tower often carries a similar vibe but in a gentler way. So a reversal doesn’t always flip the meaning, it can just soften it.

I also like to set an intention before I pull, because that usually gives a clearer read. If I’m working with jumpers, for instance, I might decide ahead of time not to use reversals and just read everything as upright even if it lands reversed.

For yes/no questions, you could do the opposite and set the intention that reversals mean the opposite answer-if that makes the answer clearer for you.